In the processing of tomatoes to produce peeled tomatoes and other tomato products, typically the tomatoes are treated with steam or lye and are then treated in what is called a peeler and stemmer. One such form of peeler and stemmer is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 2 hereof and comprises a set of pinch rods which pinch the stems and skins remaining on the tomatoes and remove them from the tomato flesh. To accomplish this properly the surface of each tomato must be exposed sufficiently uniformly to the pinch rods so that skins and stems are completely removed.
However, the tomatoes often fail to roll sufficiently and as a consequence the entire surface of a tomato is not exposed to the pinch rods. That is to say the tomato tends to roll over the bed of pinch rods but without being rotated to expose each segment of surface to the pinching effect of the rollers.